Cup chance for Tino

Fifteen-year-old Tino Carpene has been handed an opportunity to fire AFC Wimbledon Under-18s into the third round of the FA Youth Cup.

The young Dons host Ebbsfleet United tonight (7.00 pm kick-off at the Cherry Red Records Stadium) aiming to build on their impressive 4-0 win in the last round.

Manager Mark Robinson had been hoping to have striker Jayden Antwi back leading the line tonight, but the young striker has failed to shake off an ankle injury. That means Carpene will be offered a chance to build on his promising introduction to Under-18 football.

At the other end of the pitch 16-year-old Paul Kalambayi will be aiming to shore things up at the back after making an impressive switch from striker to defender. Kalambayi turned down interest from other clubs to join Wimbledon – and he says that preparations have gone well for his biggest match in a Dons shirt so far.

“I was at Brentford for three years, but I was a striker then and they never offered me a scholarship,” said Paul. “I changed to being a centre-back and then I started to go for trials at various clubs. Millwall were the first team I went to and after four weeks they wanted to sign me, but other clubs were interested too. I came to AFC Wimbledon and also Crystal Palace, but the training here impressed me and when I spoke to Mark Robinson I felt there was a real chance here for me.

“We did match analysis for the Southend game last week and we did the same again for the cup match. In training we have done a lot of work on our shape and how to play out from the back ahead of the game. We have talked about what they are going to do so we know what to expect.”

to view the interview with WDON commentator Rob Cornell posing the questions.Youth FocusA short video interview with Paul and Jason Stripp is on our official You Tube channel. Click on